Chapter 21 The Cave of Evil

Dagobah, Present

Anakin didn't like the feel of the cave. He could tell it was obviously a dark side nexus as he walked by the deformed tree. The fact that it looked like the local lizards were sticking their tongues out at him didn't improve the general creepiness of the place. It felt a lot like the dark side location him and Snips had come across on Mustafar as they were saving the children from the bounty hunter Bane. This place, however, felt much more ancient. Yeah, ancient not unlike one would expect to find on Moriband or Dromand Kaas. It was strange to Anakin that a place like Dagobah would have a location that felt so hostile. The abstract historical thinking also helped keep Anakin from spending too much time thinking about how creepy this place was and the constant and growing threat at the corner of his mind's eye. He rounded the corner, starting to wonder why the old troll would make him walk in here and why Ben was apprehensive of the place, other than the fact it was just creepy. He was about to turn around when he heard the sound of breathing. It was a strange, almost mechanical, breathing.

"Who's there?" Anakin asked. He stepped forward towards a bend in the cave when he got a warning and barely dodged backwards. A red lightsaber came down on where he had been only moments ago. Quickly he activated his own lightsaber and placed it into ready position when the figure came around the corner: an intimidatingly tall Sith in a black outfit with a skull type mask, the sight of which gave Anakin shivers. Vaguely, he realized the Sith in front of him was a cyborg. The breathing had to be some form of an iron lung. Anakin's usual nature would be to attack fast and strong but observation of the size of this mechanical terror had him deciding strength wouldn't win the day. Also, this place reeked of the dark side. He would be at a disadvantage in a fight down here since the cave's size would prevent him from using acrobatics. If he could get the cyborg into a narrow spot, though, his opponent's armor and size would become a liability.

As Anakin paused, the Cyborg lifted a hand and threw him into the wall. Anakin hit the wall with a grunt before he managed to get his lightsaber up in to time to block a strike that came surprisingly quickly from the large Sith. Anakin backed down the tunnel as the Sith came on with one heavily powered strike right after another.

"You are weak, Skywalker," the Cyborg said as the two blades locked. "You do not have the power or vision necessary to save your loved ones, especially her."

"Shut up," Anakin growled as he blocked another strike

"You weren't powerful enough to save your mother from Tuskens. What makes you think you can save your family from the Sith?" the cyborg said, continuing his assault.

"Embrace the darkness. It's the only way you can defeat me and save your family. Perhaps if you had embraced it sooner, you could have saved your mother," the Cyborg said.

"Enough from you." Anakin charged, wildly swinging his saber and hoping to land a blow before the cyborg could move. But the dark figure merely brushed the strokes aside and Force lashed Anakin back into the wall and clenched his fingers together. Anakin reached for his throat, lightsaber forgotten.

"If you do not embrace the darkness, then I will kill you right here and now," the cyborg said. "It is my destiny to destroy you, but it need not be now." Anakin was starting to lose his vision as his thoughts went to Padme. Padme. His mind briefly thought back to some of the things Ben and Vestara had shown him and Kenobi. He reached deeply into the Force and the light of his love for Padme and released the emotion. Green lightning shot from his hands into the control panel of the cyborg.

"Aaaaaagggggghhhh," the cyborg cried as it went flying into the other wall.

The explosion of the panel knocked the helmet off the Sith and Anakin called for both of their sabers before the Sith could regain it's senses. In a flash Anakin had the sabers at the throat of the kneeling Sith.

"Surrender," Anakin said.

The Sith raised it's head and Anakin saw with horror a twisted horrible version of himself looking back at him with yellow eyes.

"As long as she lives, I will always control you," Vader said.

The vision then disappeared as Anakin found himself waking up with a start. He was still in the cave. He reached for his saber to find it still on his belt and hurriedly rushed back towards the entrance of the cave. Fortunately for Anakin while the cave never lost its ominous feeling it appeared it was done with its tricks. He stumbled out to Yoda and Ben who were waiting for him and collapsed at their feet, panting heavily.

"Hmm, passed the test, young Skywalker, you have," Yoda said.

"What did I see? It was me somehow," Anakin asked, still breathing heavy\.

"Your dark side it was," Yoda said matter-of-factly. "A battle we must all face our whole lives. Better than me you have done when faced the test 6 months ago I did after escaping the hospital with your help; you did not deny it was yourself like I did at first. But know this lesson young Skywalker, only power over you it has if you allow it. Never allow it to destroy everything you love: your family, your apprentice, your master."

"It said it would always control me as long as Padme lived," Anakin said, slowly getting back on his feet.

Yoda stood and snorted. "It will always claim to be more powerful than you, to be what you need to be, claim to be the master. But you should always rule it." The trio then walked back to the Millennium Falcon and, without further interruptions, lifted off from the swamp and made for Hyperspace.

Author's Note

I had to redo the chapter upload because something happened the last time.

Happy New Years Day everyone here is part of the previous chapter I'm sure people were wondering what happened in the cave so now you know. The event is homage in part by Luke's return visit to Dagobah in Heir to the Empire

I need to make a clarification that I think has been misunderstood in this story I have not said anakin is not the chosen one of the prophesy the point that Revan was making was to not allow a vaguely worded prophecy to determine his life. I arranged his birth in a manner that can still fit the technical definition of the prophecy while allowing for a tie into KOTOR. All of this book was written in a manner that it can very well be the actual events of canon including Yoda being responsible for the freeing of Shmi Skywalker and the Skywalkers line power being inherited from the knights of the ancient past.

Until next week thanks for the Favorites reviews and bookmarks.

Ben